While climbing an obstacle, such as a mountain, rock, etc., the climber generally carries along a plurality of objects which may be placed into an opening, such as a crevice, to provide an anchoring means. These objects are for the purpose of having a rope attached thereto and may be in the form of hooks, wedges, or any of many other irregular shapes.
One type of prior art device used for such a purpose includes a partially threaded shaft having an unthreaded end portion with a pair of spaced gripping members each pivotally mounted on opposite sides thereof. A connecting pull cord is secured between the gripping members. The pivoted gripping members are each spring biased to rotate upwardly away from the unthreaded end of the shaft. An extensible sleeve is secured in threaded relation with the threaded portion of the shaft and is disposed for movement along the threaded portion of the shaft to extend the length of the device. To operate the device, the user apparently roughly estimates the distance between the surfaces of the opening which are to be engaged by the device and adjusts the length of the device accordingly. Adjustment is effected by rotating the sleeve by hand on the threaded shaft. Then, the user must hold each gripping member against the bias of the spring until the device is placed in the crevice, at which time the gripping members pivot slightly to engage the surfaces adjacent the crevice. A rope may be secured to a lanyard which extends downwardly from a pair of ears which extend from the gripping members.